Adam Gethin's 3 Step Blitz Blueprint Arm Workout!

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Big arms are one of the first motivating factors for a lot of people when they begin bodybuilding, and I use that term loosely. However, some people just cannot make their arms grow and I am often asked what I would prescribe them in order to break down the barriers. Over the last 5 years I have tried pretty much every type of arm training going. High reps, high volume, low reps, low volume, maximum tension training, super sets, giant sets, drop sets, 7s. You name it, I have done it. My conclusion is that you need to attack your arms from three different angles to really optimise growth!

Low volume

To get that grainy, thick hard muscular development in your arms I really recommend starting your arm workouts with low volume heavy training. Starting from a repetition range of around 10 and working your way down to 5, you will stimulate myofribullar hypertrophy and you will also increase your strength. For me, increasing your strength is key because you can then look to train with heavier weights which in turn challenges the muscle. What happens when we challenge the muscle with something new? It adapts, and that adaptation is growth!

Week 1 perform the following arm workout –

Dumbbell preacher curls X 5 starting with 10 repetitions, then down to 8 and then choose a heavier weight for the final 3 sets where you will do 5-6 repetitions. Go beyond failure; do negative repetitions after the 5-6 repetitions to really shock the muscle.

Close-grip bench press X 5 starting with 10 repetitions, then down to 8 and then choose a heavier weight for the final 3 sets where you will do 5-6 repetitions. Go beyond failure; do negative repetitions after the 5-6 repetitions to really shock the muscle.

High volume – maximum tension

One of my personal favourite ways to train a stubborn muscle is through a technique I call ‘maximum tension’ training. This is something I have really started to use religiously since my transformation to grow, and it is working! So often when you lift heavy weight, the quality of the muscle contraction can be quite poor. This is why high volume maximum tension training is so good, because it forces the target muscle to work under immense levels of tension. However, due to the fact it is so fatiguing on the muscle, the weight you use is small in comparison so there is very little stress on the joints and connective tissue.

Week 2 perform the following arm workout –

Alternating cable curls X 8 for 30 repetitions per set. Every repetition you need to squeeze at the top of the contraction and hold it for around 2 seconds and the negative portion of the repetition needs to be slow as well. Only take 60 seconds rest between sets!

Close-grip EZ bar curls X 8 for 30 repetitions per set. Every repetition you need to squeeze at the top of the contraction and hold it for around 2 seconds and the negative portion of the repetition needs to be slow as well. Only take 60 seconds rest between sets!

Straight bar pushdowns X 8 for 30 repetitions per set. Every repetition you need to squeeze at the top of the contraction and hold it for around 2 seconds and the negative portion of the repetition needs to be slow as well. Only take 60 seconds rest between sets!

Overhead rope extensions X 8 for 30 repetitions per set. Every repetition you need to squeeze at the top of the contraction and hold it for around 2 seconds and the negative portion of the repetition needs to be slow as well. Only take 60 seconds rest between sets!

I cannot emphasise the importance of squeezing really hard for about 2 seconds at the top of EVERY repetition. This will be an extremely uncomfortable experience, push through it!

Week 3 – ultra high repetitions DTP

In the third week you also do high repetitions matched with extreme intensity. However, this time it is more about keeping the pump and doing fast repetitions, lots of repetitions with little rest. This way you maximise the blood flow into the muscle, thus promoting a stretch on the fascia.

Week 3 perform the following arm workout –

Superset the following two exercises back to back!

Bar cable curls – 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50

Rope extensions – 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50

As the repetitions get lower increase the weight and decrease the weight on the way back up! As a rule of thumb you should fail at around half way through each set and then rest/pause to the end! This needs to be intense!

There you go, a 3 week training cycle to have your arms looking like Popeye’s on extra concentrated spinach and magic muscle juice!